Thiruvananthapuram: In an effort to sort out issues related to the recruitment of nurses in Kuwait, a two-member team from Norka Roots has left for the Gulf country. Norka Roots CEO Harikrishnan Namboothiri K and recruitment manager Ajith Kolassery will hold discussions with Kuwait ministry of health (MoH) officials from Monday to Thursday.

The recruitment of Indian nurses to the Gulf nation was put on hold after the Kuwait ministry detected large-scale corruption involving ministry officials and private agencies.

The aim is to establish Norka Roots, the PSU under the state NRK affairs department, as a reliable partner of Kuwait MoH, which can meet the gulf nation’s requirement of nurses and other medical staff, said Namboothiri before leaving for Kuwait. The meeting has been facilitated by the Indian Embassy in Kuwait.“During this visit, we will do an ‘opportunity mapping’ and discuss on various ways to collaborate,” Namboothiri said. To be a reliable partner one needs to be highly professional and Norka Roots is well prepared to be a recruiting agency, he added.

A similar effort was made when the previous UDF government was in power. Owing to various reasons, the partnership did not materialize.

According to Namboothiri, the MoH officials will be looking at the agency’s ‘sense of urgency’ – the ability to provide candidates in time, and ‘sense of process’ – a transparent process which is required to gain trust.

Most importantly, there has to be ‘a sense of ownership’. “With private agencies, it’s easier to build and maintain relations. But in case of government agencies, they will have to face a lot of inconveniences due to possible changes in rules and persons in-charge,” Namboothiri pointed out.

The government is very much aware of the dire situation the state is in due to the nationalisation measures in Gulf countries, which have led to return of NRKs in large numbers. “We have to strengthen a reverse channel to transport our manpower and stabilize the economy,” the Norka Roots CEO said.

As a recruiting agency, the public-sector company could ensure merit, affordability and a transparent system, Namboothiri asserted. “A nurse who gets recruited through Norka Roots will have to spend only Rs 30,000 (as the processing fee), against lakhs of rupees the private agencies might demand from them,” he pointed out